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Archive for December 2015

As of late, I’ve had several people asking why exactly we need to get an oil change. Because of this, I thought it would be wise to write a post on it so everyone who has been wondering this same thing can finally understand.

It’s funny because I really hadn’t ever received this question before. Everyone knows that we need oil changes. But nobody ever asked why. It leads me to wonder whether or not people already knew or if they simply didn’t care. (It is mostly people in the younger generations asking).

Anyhow, oil changes are very crucial to maintaining the health of your car. If you don’t want to pay a maximum “fine” for neglecting to keep up with the oil, it’s good to be very diligent and get it taken care of as often as needed. This can vary from car to car, and usually there will be a sticker on the upper right hand corner of your windshield. (Near the driver’s head).

Fresh motor oil

Now, to answer the question, oil helps to lubricate the moving parts of the engine. This lowers the amount of friction felt by the engine which will in turn lower the amount of heat. So you could say that regular oil changes help to keep the engine nice and cool. It also keeps grit and small particles from scratching some of the more tightly-fitted parts which has to do with the general wear and tear of the car.

If the oil isn’t changed, the resulting heat will make the oil brake down or can make it turn either (or both in worst cases) gummy or watery. Of course, neither of these consistencies are good for lubricatioin. And the longer this goes on, the worse and dirtier it gets.

It’s also important to change the oil because you’re not just getting new oil. As the name suggests, you’re changing the oil out so actually replacing the old with new. When you flush the old oil out, you also flush away any grit or dirt in it which helps to keep the engine clean.